Insulated deck structure



Feb. 25, 1964 R. E. MASSE 3,122,073

INSULATED DECK STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 11, 1960 I [ll/[III I 1 7 l/llrll ""0 I N VEN TOR.

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3,122,073 INSULATED DECK STRUCTURE Robert E. Masse, 1959 Dousman Sh, Green Bay, Wis. Filed Jan. 11, Edi}, Ser. No. 1,694 4 Claims. (Cl. 9M3) This invention relates to an insulated deck structure.

The provision of an insulated deck capable of standing relatively heavy usage and at the same time providing adequate thermal insulation has always been a problem. Such decks are required on shipboard but also in buildings of all kinds where there is a flat or slightly pitched deck which must be used by personnel and, in some instances, for light vehicles. in most instances, the deck must be capable of withstanding very marked temperature variations through a wide range without deterioration or destruction. Also, in the case of shipboard usage, particularly, there are distortions and vibrations which the deck must be able to absorb without damage.

These problems are solved, according to the present invention, by placing on a prepared surface blocks of insulating material with strips of fabric such as glass cloth intervening between rows of blocks and bonded to the deck surface beneath the blocks of one row and extending up between the blocks of parallel rows and bonded to the tops of blocks of an adjecent row. Upon the insulating layer thus provided, there is an elastic supporting and bonding coat upon which the finished deck surface is laid.

in the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing an insulated deck structure embodying the invention, portions being broken away to expose the several layers.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a slightly modified organization.

The deck to be insulated and floored is shown at 5. For illustrative purposes, it is illustrated as being bounded by walls, partitions or bulkheads 6 and 7. In practice, it is preferred to apply a resilient adhesive coat or coats 8. The material used experimentally has been neoprene with aluminite cement as a setting agent. One such adhesive composition is sold commercially under the trademark Magnabond, but there are various similar compounds under different trademarks. The coat 8 may be built up by two or more brush coats on the deck 5.

The leveling coat 9 is optional. It is desirable only when the deck is not smooth. The leveling coat 9 may comprise the same resilient adhesive material, in which sand or the like has been added to thicken it sufiiciently so that it can be trowelled into place to make a reasonably fair surface to receive the insulating blocks it).

The blocks 10 are deposited on the leveling coat 9 (or directly on the base coat 8) in rows which are anchored by strips of fabric 11. For the fabric, glass cloth has been found particularly desirable. The first fabric strip 11 along either of the bulkheads 6 or 7 is channelshaped as assembled in the final organization. It has a first flange 12 cemented to the deck (either directly or by cementing it to the leveling coat 9) and an upright web 13 cemented to the bulkhead or wall and another flange 14 which overlies the margins of adjacent insulating "blocks 19 and is cemented thereto. One such strip 11 extends along the wall 7 and the sides and tops of the blocks of the first row. Another such strip extends along the wall 6 and the ends and tops of the blocks of the several rows. The Magnabond adhesive referred to is a preferred material, but any good adhesive which will anchor the glass cloth will serve the purpose. The glass cloth may be impregnated with the adhesive, and the adhesive may be rushed onto both faces of it in order that it may be bonded to the insulating blocks as well as to the deck and wall or bulkhead.

3,l22,73 Patented Feb. 25, 1%64 The strips 11 which intervene between rows of insulating blocks are applied similarly except that they are not channel-shaped. The same flange portion 12. is bonded to the deck or the leveling coat, as the case may be, and the web portion 13 extends upwardly between two courses of insulating blocks it} and is bonded to them both. However, the top flange 14, instead of being folded to overlie the flange 12 is, in this instance, preferably folded oppositely so that the flange 14 overlies the insulating blocks of one row while the flange 12 underlies the blocks of the adjacent row.

For the insulating blocks If it is preferred to use some sort of foamed material, foam glass being my first choice because of its high compressive strength. However, the material known as Styrofoam or the material known as urethane foam or other foamed synthetic resins or plastics may be substituted. It is also contemplated that the blocks may comprise natural insulating materials such as cork.

After all of the rows of blocks have been set in place and anchored by the fabric strips cemented to the blocks and to the underlying deck, I apply a bed coat or bed coats 15, 15 upon which the finishing floor 15 is laid. The finishing flooring may comprise any appropriate flooring, examples being linoleum, terrazzo, ceramic tile, rubber tile or the like. The bed coat 15, 15' is similar to the leveling coat as above described, desirably constituting an elastic cement in which an inert filler such as sand has been incorporated. The cove base strips 17 are primarily ornamental although, if cemented to the Wall or bulkhead as indicated at 18, the base acts as flashing and tends to prevent water from getting beneath the flooring.

The construction shown in FIG. 2 is identical with that above described except that a Web of expanded galvanized metal with a diamond mesh which may, for example, have a weight of 3.4 pounds, is used as shown at 29, being laid upon the layer 15 of subcoat and having its entire mesh filled with the subcoat material forming the layer 15'. It is very important that if expanded metal mesh is used, it should be completely embedded in the subcoat material so that there is no frictional contact between it and the insulating blocks. If such contact occurs, the relative movement resulting from changes of temperature will pulverize the expanded glass or other material constituting the blocks 1%.

One additional coat of elastic cement is used at 15" in the preferred construction after which the finished floor 16 and cove base 17 are applied as already described.

'In extensive experimentation with foam type insulating materials, it has been discovered that none of these seems to be capable of permanent adhesion to a deck between the deck and the overlying finished floor. In other words, the mere use of a relatively elastic cement is not sufiicient to anchor these insulating blocks permanently. However, when the blocks are anchored by means of the fabric strips bonded to the blocks and to the deck as shown, the insulation becomes permanent.

While there is a high degree of thermal insulation provided by the blocks, the finished flooring can be used to practically the same extent as if the blocks were not there. It handles all foot trafiic and even baggage trucking and the like without damage. Moreover, it is capable of withstanding wide variations in temperature without damage. In the case of a ship deck or even the terrace or roof deck of a building, the variations range from far below freezing to temperatures of F. or higher. The adhesive-impregnated strips hold the insulating blocks in place at the same time providing a sufficient measure of elasticity to accommodate these temperature changes without permitting the expansion and contraction of the finished flooring to result in any separation of such flooring from the deck.

I claim:

1. The combination with a deck having a bonding coat, of a plurality of rows of block insulating material, and means for yieldably connecting said material to the deck and including elastically yieldable fabric anchoring strips having generally upright portions intervening between the several rows of said plurality of rows and having generally horizontal portions provided with cementitious connection with the bonding coat beneath the material of such row and other generally horizontal portions provided with a cementitious connection to the upper surface of the material of such a row, together with means including a sub-coat and a flooring coat continuous across the rows of insulating material and the anchoring strips for providing a finished surface.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which expanded metal is embedded in the sub-coat and spaced thereby from the rows of insulating material and from the flooring coat surface.

3. A combination according to claim 1 in Which the generally upright portions of said fabric anchoring strips have cementitious connection with the side margins of the rows of block insulating material between which they respectively intervene, the generally horizontal portions of such strips which are respectively in connection with the bonding coat and with the upper surface of the insulating material being arranged to project in opposite directions from generally upright portions aforesaid.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the fabric strips comprise glass cloth and the block insnlating material comprises material selected from the group consisting of foamed glass, Styrofoam, urethane foam, and cork, the bonding coat and the sub-coat both comprising resiliently elastic cement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 596,266 Hind Dec. 28, 1897 1,226,788 MacLeith May 22, 1917 1,336,683 Davis et al. Apr. 13, 1920 1,446,455 Fischer Feb. 27, 1923 1,662,177 Williams Mar. 13, 1928 1,899,385 Finley Feb. 28, 1933 2,629,352 Beckwith Feb. 4, 1936 2,313,990 Crandell Mar. 16, 1943 2,450,309 Rapp Feb. 1, 1949 2,736,772 Jones Jan. 17, 1956 2,833,229 Donegan May 6, 195.8

FORElGN PATENTS 815,840 France Apr. 19, 1937 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A DECK HAVING A BONDING COAT, OF A PLURALITY OF ROWS OF BLOCK INSULATING MATERIAL, AND MEANS FOR YIELDABLY CONNECTING SAID MATERIAL TO THE DECK AND INCLUDING ELASTICALLY YIELDABLE FABRIC ANCHORING STRIPS HAVING GENERALLY UPRIGHT PORTIONS INTERVENING BETWEEN THE SEVERAL ROWS OF SAID PLURALITY OF ROWS AND HAVING GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PORTIONS PROVIDED WITH CEMENTITIOUS CONNECTION WITH THE BONDING COAT BENEATH THE MATERIAL OF SUCH ROW AND OTHER GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PORTIONS PROVIDED WITH A CEMENTITIOUS CONNECTION TO THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE MATERIAL OF SUCH A ROW, TOGETHER WITH MEANS INCLUDING A SUB-COAT AND A FLOORING COAT CONTINUOUS ACROSS THE ROWS OF INSULATING MATERIAL AND THE ANCHORING STRIPS FOR PROVIDING A FINISHED SURFACE. 